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2023 New England Gathering Discussion (March 24 - 26, Sugarloaf / Saddleback)

James

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What does the Lobsterman’s Almanac say about the weather for our dates??
 

Wilhelmson

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Contrast with Max Headroom at Sugarloaf the same week. For the first time in the last 5 years Bracket Basin wasn’t open for feb vacation (it’s usually fully open). Max is skiers right of Winters Way so probably benefits from some snowmaking overblow. 5A241A42-59F9-4445-824B-C517F4BC8B77.jpeg
 

zircon

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Well, pulled the trigger on an inlaw suite type airbnb and tentatively locked in lodging. Eustis, here we come. If the road in between is what y'all say, then happy birthday to me, I get to upgrade my shocks sooner. Now, we wait.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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James

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Saw that. Pretty impressive looking. Definitely looks like a more serious job than past attempts at fixes.
Maybe send those guys down to Magic to finish the chairlift after 3 yrs.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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I have a question for people actually planning to come (not just auditing). To what degree do your lodging and (especially) ticket arrangements mandate that we know ahead of time what days will be at which area? If you need to know, how far ahead do you need to know? (A day? A week? A month?)

I've been assuming that people WILL need to know ahead of time, but maybe I'm wrong.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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Maybe Friday-Saturday at one and Sunday-Monday at the other?

Been thinking about this. The official gathering days are Fri - Sun. Eyeballing the roll call thread, it looks like most people are planning on skiing all three of these days. A few will be Sat - Sun only. Monday is the "extra credit" day that seems to be getting the most traction, but it's still a small minority of participants. Understood that we're a long ways out and the roll call will change.

As most of you know, I'm not an unbiased cat herder here, and have a mild agenda with regard to exposing more skiers to the pleasures of Saddleback. (The Loaf is a great area, but they don't need me to tell anyone that.) My concern about spending Friday and Saturday at the Loaf and Sunday at Saddleback goes beyond just the obvious question of whether the three-core-days attendees will want to spend double the time at the Loaf that we do at Saddleback. I have a strong suspicion, based on years observing license plate activity at these two remote areas, that after skiing all weekend, non-Mainers who have to be back at work on Monday will suddenly start feeling very tired at about lunchtime on Sunday. They're going to start thinking about how far away from home they are, and about how long a drive they have, and decide to pack it in early. If we do a Loaf - Loaf - Saddleback schedule, those people will end up having skied two full days at Sugarloaf and only a half day at Saddleback, which I think would be too bad.

With this in mind I'm leaning more toward campaigning for a Saddleback (Fri) - Loaf (Sat) - Saddleback (Sun) schedule. :duck: At least I wanted to plant that seed.
 

KevinF

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Saturday crowds are always an issue…. I’m guessing that Saddleback would be “quieter” on a Saturday than Loaf will be?

I was thinking we spend Friday (or Sunday) at Loaf and the other days at Saddleback. That said, my only real preference is that we spend two days at Saddleback…. How that’s organized isn’t really a concern.

For the benefit of the weekend-only visitors, it would probably make the sense to have Sugarloaf on a Sunday?

Again, my thoughts are predicated on the assumption that Saddleback is quieter than load on a Saturday.
 
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Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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Saturday crowds are always an issue…. I’m guessing that Saddleback would be “quieter” on a Saturday than Loaf will be?

I was thinking we spend Friday (or Sunday) at Loaf and the other days at Saddleback. That said, my only real preference is that we spend two days at Saddleback…. How that’s organized isn’t really a concern.

For the benefit of the weekend-only visitors, it would probably make the sense to have Sugarloaf on a Sunday?

Again, my thoughts are predicated on the assumption that Saddleback is quieter than load on a Saturday.
Excellent point, Kevin.
 

MarkP

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I have a question for people actually planning to come (not just auditing). To what degree do your lodging and (especially) ticket arrangements mandate that we know ahead of time what days will be at which area? If you need to know, how far ahead do you need to know? (A day? A week? A month?)

I've been assuming that people WILL need to know ahead of time, but maybe I'm wrong.

Been thinking about this. The official gathering days are Fri - Sun. Eyeballing the roll call thread, it looks like most people are planning on skiing all three of these days. A few will be Sat - Sun only. Monday is the "extra credit" day that seems to be getting the most traction, but it's still a small minority of participants. Understood that we're a long ways out and the roll call will change.

As most of you know, I'm not an unbiased cat herder here, and have a mild agenda with regard to exposing more skiers to the pleasures of Saddleback. (The Loaf is a great area, but they don't need me to tell anyone that.) My concern about spending Friday and Saturday at the Loaf and Sunday at Saddleback goes beyond just the obvious question of whether the three-core-days attendees will want to spend double the time at the Loaf that we do at Saddleback. I have a strong suspicion, based on years observing license plate activity at these two remote areas, that after skiing all weekend, non-Mainers who have to be back at work on Monday will suddenly start feeling very tired at about lunchtime on Sunday. They're going to start thinking about how far away from home they are, and about how long a drive they have, and decide to pack it in early. If we do a Loaf - Loaf - Saddleback schedule, those people will end up having skied two full days at Sugarloaf and only a half day at Saddleback, which I think would be too bad.

With this in mind I'm leaning more toward campaigning for a Saddleback (Fri) - Loaf (Sat) - Saddleback (Sun) schedule. :duck: At least I wanted to plant that seed.

I'm closer to planning than auditing. If I do head up there, I intend to do 4-5 ski days. Never having skied Saddleback, at least 2 days there is a priority for me.

Saddleback doesn't yet have online specific day ticket prices, but I'll assume for now a 20% savings if bought ahead of time, no matter what the window price actually is. I see there is a 3-pack available with no date restrictions, which is a no brainer if I do use all 3. But is it still a decent deal if I only do 2 days? Does anyone have last year's ticket pricing?
 

ilovepugs

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Saturday crowds are always an issue…. I’m guessing that Saddleback would be “quieter” on a Saturday than Loaf will be?

I was thinking we spend Friday (or Sunday) at Loaf and the other days at Saddleback. That said, my only real preference is that we spend two days at Saddleback…. How that’s organized isn’t really a concern.

For the benefit of the weekend-only visitors, it would probably make the sense to have Sugarloaf on a Sunday?

Again, my thoughts are predicated on the assumption that Saddleback is quieter than load on a Saturday.
This makes the most sense to me.

edit - but, a thought: the Divas will be meeting up Sunday at saddleback. Not that the SkiTalkers have to overlap with the Divas, but it might be a consideration.
 
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aveski

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I'd probably end up doing the Saddleback days, Friday and Sunday, and maybe skipping out on Saturday, depending on weather and snow conditions. I might also ski Sugarloaf on Thursday or Monday too.
 
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Tony S

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I'm closer to planning than auditing. If I do head up there, I intend to do 4-5 ski days. Never having skied Saddleback, at least 2 days there is a priority for me.

Saddleback doesn't yet have online specific day ticket prices, but I'll assume for now a 20% savings if bought ahead of time, no matter what the window price actually is. I see there is a 3-pack available with no date restrictions, which is a no brainer if I do use all 3. But is it still a decent deal if I only do 2 days? Does anyone have last year's ticket pricing?
I don't remember the prices since I didn't buy day tickets last year. My guess is that if you bought 2 individual day tickets it would cost you slightly less than the 3-day pack. How much less would depend on whether the 2 tickets were weekend or weekday, and whether you qualify for any of the "special" rates (senior, etc.). If you paid full boat for two weekend tickets it's probably a wash. If you decided to ski a third day you'd be bummed you didn't buy the three pack. (3-pack is currently $200, so $66.6 per ticket for three days, or $100 per ticket per 2 days.)

Another factor is convenience. With the ticket pack, you show up the first day, wait in line to get your ticket card, and you're good to go for the weekend. As stated, I haven't bought a day ticket since the new regime took over. I know they have self-service kiosks now. I would NOT assume, however, that buying a ticket will be a totally frictionless experience. I've had some slowdowns in that department on more than one occasion. With the staffing issues that all areas are facing, I wouldn't count on that track record changing.

*** FOR EVERYONE: Last Day Before Multipack Ticket Price Hike is MONDAY ***
 

TheArchitect

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Been thinking about this. The official gathering days are Fri - Sun. Eyeballing the roll call thread, it looks like most people are planning on skiing all three of these days. A few will be Sat - Sun only. Monday is the "extra credit" day that seems to be getting the most traction, but it's still a small minority of participants. Understood that we're a long ways out and the roll call will change.

As most of you know, I'm not an unbiased cat herder here, and have a mild agenda with regard to exposing more skiers to the pleasures of Saddleback. (The Loaf is a great area, but they don't need me to tell anyone that.) My concern about spending Friday and Saturday at the Loaf and Sunday at Saddleback goes beyond just the obvious question of whether the three-core-days attendees will want to spend double the time at the Loaf that we do at Saddleback. I have a strong suspicion, based on years observing license plate activity at these two remote areas, that after skiing all weekend, non-Mainers who have to be back at work on Monday will suddenly start feeling very tired at about lunchtime on Sunday. They're going to start thinking about how far away from home they are, and about how long a drive they have, and decide to pack it in early. If we do a Loaf - Loaf - Saddleback schedule, those people will end up having skied two full days at Sugarloaf and only a half day at Saddleback, which I think would be too bad.

With this in mind I'm leaning more toward campaigning for a Saddleback (Fri) - Loaf (Sat) - Saddleback (Sun) schedule. :duck: At least I wanted to plant that seed.
Saturday crowds are always an issue…. I’m guessing that Saddleback would be “quieter” on a Saturday than Loaf will be?

I was thinking we spend Friday (or Sunday) at Loaf and the other days at Saddleback. That said, my only real preference is that we spend two days at Saddleback…. How that’s organized isn’t really a concern.

For the benefit of the weekend-only visitors, it would probably make the sense to have Sugarloaf on a Sunday?

Again, my thoughts are predicated on the assumption that Saddleback is quieter than load on a Saturday.

Good points, all. I think that if I was choosing I'd have Saddleback on Sunday, in spite of the Saturday crowds. My reasoning is that Saddleback appears to be a somewhat shorter drive for those of us returning to the Boston area on Sunday. As for leaving early on Sunday, that would normally be true for me but not in this case. This is my first time to either mountain and I want to get as much skiing as I can in at both.
 

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